Dr Rodney Ford is a specialist medical doctor, a pediatrician with certification in allergy and gastroenterology. (http://www.DrRodneyFord.com). His philosophy is “diet: not drugs”. He has seen too many people given medications for symptoms without considering the possibility of food allergy/ intolerance.

He has been investigating adverse reactions to gluten for over 20 years. This group of problems is now called “Gluten-related disorder”. Unfortunately, it turns out that gluten appears to be bad for us all.

Dr. Ford’s purpose – global gluten consciousness. Dr. Ford is wants our communities to know a lot more about the potential harm of gluten. Countless people have gluten-related disorders – but they are completely unaware of it. Most of the medical community remains skeptical about gluten harm, requiring more peer-reviewed information. Consequently, there is an urgent need to increase the level of “gluten consciousness”.

Qualifications. Doctor Ford graduated with honors from the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1974 (MB. BS). He achieved his Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in Paediatrics (FRACP) in 1981; and was awarded his Doctorate of Medicine (MD) in 1982. He has studied food allergy/ intolerance problems in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Formerly, Associate Professor of Paediatrics, Otago University, New Zealand, he directed the pediatric allergy and gastroenterology clinic at Christchurch Hospital, for more than 15 years. He now directs the ‘Children’s Clinic and Allergy Centre’, a busy allergy and gastroenterology clinic in Christchurch, New Zealand. (http://www.thechildrensclinic.co.nz)

Gluten expert. Dr. Ford is called a “Gluten Expert” because throughout his medical career, with food allergy and intolerances, he has made a special study of gluten-related disorders. He was first define the term “Gluten Syndrome”, to gather together the wide-ranging illnesses that are associated with gluten, including celiac disease. These conditions are now categorized as “gluten-related disorders”.

Author and speaker. He is a prolific author and international speaker, and has written over a hundred scientific papers including many books. His series of books on gluten-related disorders include:

Thought to ponder: Do you (or your family) have any longstanding health problems? If so, how can you know if you would feel a lot better by avoiding gluten? It is estimated that at least 1-in-10 (10%) people have a gluten-related disorder. Consequently, about 1-in-5 (20%) of the ill-population, seeing their doctor, are likely to be gluten-affected. But, how often has your doctor considered a gluten-related disorder as your possible diagnosis? Perhaps never.